About Patrik Verstreken

2017 - present

Scientific Director, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research

2013 - present

Full Professor, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven (Associate Professor 2007-2013)

2007 - present

Group Leader, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research

9/2007 - 4/2008, 3/2012 Coaching for Group Leaders, True Colours, Belgium

21/04/2003 - 31/12/2006 Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

20/06/2000 - 20/07/2000 Neurobiology of Drosophila, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, Cold Spring Harbor, NY

16/09/1998 - 20/04/2003 Ph.D. in Developmental Biology with Dr. Hugo J. Bellen, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 

10/07/1996 - 20/09/1996 Summer Medical Research Training (SMART), Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

01/10/1993 - 10/07/1998 Bio-Engineering - cell and gene technology, University of Brussels (V.U.B.), Belgium 

3/2025 Generet Award for Rare Diseases 2024

5/2023 AstraZeneca Foundation Award 2023

3/2023 Selected as participant for the Rainwater Charitable Foundation’s Tauopathy Challenge Workshop

1/2023 ERC Advanced Grant

1/2021 ERC Proof of Concept Grant

5/2018 Elected EMBO Member

7/2016 Elected member of the FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence

1/2016 ERC Consolidator Grant

7/2014 International IBRO-Kemali Prize for Research in the Field of Basic and Clinical Neurosciences

1/2011 ERC Starting Grant

8/2009 Francqui Docent recipient

1/2007 Marie Curie Excellence Grant

5/2006 Finalist European Young Investigator award

6/2004 1st place Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society dissertation award

3/2004 Runner up 17th Larry Sandler Memorial Lecture, 45th Drosophila Research  Conference

9/2003 Post-doctoral fellow of the Belgian American Educational Foundation (BAEF) and  Fellow of the Brussels Hoover Foundation

10/2002 1st place Beckmann Coulter Best platform presentation award

See Patrik's Google Scholar Profile for a complete list of publications.

2021-present Editorial board member for EMBO reports 
2017-present Reviewing editor for eLife
2015-present Editorial board member for Cell Reports
2015-2017 Monitoring editor for The Journal of Cell Biology 

Reviewer on an ad hoc basis, for the following journals: Cell, Cell Reports, Current Biology, Developmental Biology, Disease Models and Mechanisms, eLife, EMBO Journal, EMBO Mol Med, EMBO Reports, Genes and Development, 
Genome Research, Journal of Cell Biology, Journal of Neurophysiology, Journal of Neuroscience, Molecular Neurodegeneration, Nature, Nature Cell Biology, Nature Communications, Nature Neuroscience, Neurobiology of Disease, Neuron, Neuroscience, PLoS Biology, PLoS Genetics, PLoSONE, PNAS, Science, …

Reviewer for the following funding agencies: Danish National Research Foundation, European Research Council (ERC), Wellcome Trust, MRC, Czech Research Foundation, Telethon Research Foundation, IWT, MNDA, ANS (France), Parkinson’s UK, NWO, DFG, Human Frontier Science Program, …

For tenure evaluations and scientific advisory boards at the following institutions: Amsterdam Neuroscience, Centre for Neurogenomics, Human Technopole, Italy; Leibniz Institute for Molecular Pharmacology (FMP), Germany; Columbia University, USA; Brandeis University, USA; Scripps research institute La Jolla, USA; University College London, UK; University of Illinois at Chicago, USA; University of Zurich, CH; Harvard University, USA; Universiteit Hasselt, BE; Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.

Member of selection committees or review panels for: FENS Kavli network of excellence, UK-DRI, IWT Flanders, ERC Starting Grant review panel

Member or chair of >40 national and international doctoral advisory committees, e.g. in Denmark, The Netherlands, Swiss, UK, etc.

Biotech start-up
2021 Founder of Jay Therapeutics NV

Industrial collaborations
2012-2022 >€10M in R&D collaborations with various partners

Patents 
2010 Patrik Verstreken, Sebastian Munck and Willem Annaert - Method and apparatus for the imaging of a labeled sample - GB 1007055.5 Licensed to Zeiss

2011 Patrik Verstreken, Valerie Uytterhoeven and Sabine Kuenen - Means and methods for improvement of synaptic dysfunction disorders - US 61/463,379

2012 Vanessa Morais, Patrik Verstreken and Bart De Strooper - Restoring phosphorylation of a novel PINK1 substrate to treat Parkinson’s disease - US 61/723,705

2014 Yanik Tardy and Patrik Verstreken.  - Co-administration of Light and a Therapeutic Agent to Stimulate Dysfunctional Mitochondria Affected by a Neurological Disorder - US 61/783.975

2015 Melissa Vos, Vanessa Morais and Patrik Verstreken - Means and methods for treatment of early-onset Parkinson’s disease - PCT/EP2015/077263

2016 Patrik Verstreken, Joseph McInnes and Lujia Zhou - Inhibition of Tau-mediated early synaptic dysfunction - EP 16168893.2

2016 Kevin Lüthy, Baptiste Fisher, Jone Paesmans, Wim Versées and Patrik Verstreken - Compounds for treatment of intractable epilepsy and DOORS syndrome - GB 1614609.4

2017 Joseph McInnes, Lujia Zhou and Patrik Verstreken - Targeting synaptogyrin-3 in Tauopathy treatment - EP 17181659.8. 

2021 Patrik Verstreken and Ana Rita Santos - Oligonucleotides for modulating synaptogyrin-3 expression - EP 21191496. Licensed to Jay Therapeutics

2023 Patrik Verstreken and Roman Praschberger - Suppressors of Tauopathies - EP 23153997.4. Licensed to VIB VZW and KU Leuven

2023 Patrik Verstreken and Ana Rita Santos - Inhibitors of Synaptogyrin-3 expression - EP 23157699.2. Licensed to Jay Therapeutics

2023 Patrik Verstreken and Ana Rita Santos - Oligonucleotides for modulating synaptogyrin-3 expression - EP 23157708.1. Licensed to Jay Therapeutics

KU Leuven
2008-present Advances in Neurodegenerative diseases (E0G10A) 

2007-present Hot topics in Neurodegenerative diseases (E0G11A)  

2008-present Research Rotations 1st year Master in Biomedical sciences

2008-present Master’s Research Student projects (about 1-2 students/year), 2nd year Master in Biomedical sciences

2008-present Hot topics in Biology of the Cell/Neuron (E04N9A) 

2007-present Advanced Biology of the Cell/Neuron (E04N8A) 

International
07/2022 Molecular Neurodegeneration and Therapeutic Approaches - Course co-director, Wellcome genome campus, UK
05/2020 School on Parkinson’s Disease - Guest Lecturer, Institute of Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
04/2020 BioTrinity 2020 – Where now for Neurodegenerative Research - Panel member, UK
10/2019 FENS Cajal course Advanced Techniques for Synapse Biology - Course director, Bordeaux, France
10/2015 FENS Cajal course Synapse Biology, Instructor, Bordeaux, France
9/2013 Master class “Life Sciences Kolleg- Cellular Neurobiology”, German National Academic Foundation, Rastatt, Germany
2/2013-3/2013 PhD course “Neurobiology and Disease” - Guest Lecturer, University of Coimbra, Portugal.
10/2011 Master class "Capita selecta molecular and cellular gene biotechnology"  - Guest Lecturer, Universiteit Antwerpen, Antwerpen, Belgium.
1/2010 EMBO – K.U.Leuven - Bogazici University advanced Master’s course - Guest Lecturer, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey
7/2009-7/2011 Neurobiology of Drosophila - Guest lecturer, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories Course, US

Organization of international scientific meetings

• Gordon research conference ‘Cell Biology of the Neuron’: Vice-chair (2022) and chair (2024), Waterville Valley, USA;
• EMBO workshop Autophagy in Brain Health and Disease (2022), Spain;
• New Horizons in Alzheimer’s Disease conference: organizing committee (2021), Leuven, Belgium;
• Low lands fly meeting: co-chair (2021) and (2022), Leuven, Belgium;
• European Network for Endomembrane Research meeting (ENPER): Scientific committee (2013), Gent, Belgium;
• FENS satellite−symposium "Parkinson’s disease" (2013), Milan, Italy.

Local activities

• Director of the Graduate school in Cognitive and Molecular Neuroscience (2014-2019);
• Board member of the Department of Neurosciences;
• Member and chair of multiple faculty search committees;
• Vice-chair VIB Group leader committee (2008-2010);
• VIB Board of Directors member;
• Member of the Scientific Committee of Mission Lucidity;
• President student organization Bio-engineers of Brussels, BioTecho (1997-1998)
• Board member of student organization Bio-engineers of Brussels, BioTecho (1996-1997)
   

Public outreach activities
>20 press releases with national and international attention; Several national TV-shows, documentaries and radio shows; Several lectures for the lay public and Alzheimer and Parkinson’s disease organizations; Pint of science; 
panel member in workshops organized by ERC and eLife on open access publishing. Participation in open lab days (e.g. ‘day of science’, ‘biotechday’ and ‘patients meet scientists’); Annual world Parkinson day; Visits to elementary 
schools (5th and 6th graders, 11-12 years old) to teach and conduct experiments ‘science on the road’ (2015-now); Advise to politicians, The Cure Parkinson’s disease Trust, the Flemish Parkinson Liga.